Bridge.



4 Sheets-Sheet l.

Patented Nov. I4, |899.

M. WAUDELL.

BRIDGE.

(Application led Msy 29, 1899.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOR THE nomas Perzns co., Pnoauruu., wAsNlNn'mN. D. c.

Wl-NESSES 4.43.

Patented Nov. I4, |899. M. WADDELL.

BRIDGE.

(Application led May 29, 1899.) (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet -2.

WITNESSES: 5 JM X. Q1 w. S RWM?,

Patented Nov. I4, |899.

M. WADDELL..

B R l DG E.

(Appumien mea my 29, 1399.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

ludlllll Illllllll WITN ESSES i t Patented Nov. I4, |899.

M. WADDELL.

B R l D G E (Application :ma my 29, 1399.)

(No Model.)

III/111"- WITNESSES: @Mlm guts,

'ma Nonms PETER: ou. mofurno., wAsNmGToN. D. c.

' r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MONTGOMERY WADDELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BRIDGE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Leatters Patent No. 637,050, dated November14, 1899. Application filed May 29, 1899. Serial No. 718,695. mo model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may con/cern,.-

Beit known that I, MONTGOMERY WAD- DELL, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Manhattanand State of New York, have invented'certain new and useful Improvementsin Bridges,of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to vertically-turning bridges. In such bridges itis customary to apply a counterweight to balance the weight of thebridge in order to economize in the power necessary to move the bridge.This counterweight is usually a mass of heavy material located upon anextension of the bridge back of its axis of rotation, which axis isusually coincident with the center of gravity of the entire structure,or the counterweight is supported by a cord riggedover sheaves upon atower and attached to the bridge at or near its outer extremity. Whendisposed according to the former plan,` the extension to the rear of theaxis is made as long'as possible to aftord leverage for the action of asmall counterweight, and the axis being the center of gravity is usuallysome distance above the lower chord or limits of the bridge. It is alsogood practice to locate the axis of rotation as near the edge of thewater as possible, so that the length of the span will be no more thanis necessary to cross the waterway; but among the difficultiesencountered in the designing of a bridge possessing these requirementsmay be mentioned, first, that a bridge whose axis is fixed at a pointhigh above its lower chord and near to the waters edge will necessarilyoverhang the waterway when it is open and so restrict the passage;second, if this defect is cured by carrying the axis backward it is atthe expense of land and pier area and makes the bridge-span longer, and,third, if the bridge is moved bodily backward while it is opening orafter it has opened itwill require more land area and a larger pier.Hence the object of my invention is to provide a vertically-turningbridge affording ample leverage for its counterweight and in which theaxis of the structure is located normally near to the edge of the waterand in which the landspace or pier upon which the bridge rests andoperates is relatively small.

To this end my invention consists, in general,in mounting the pivotalend of the bridge upon two ixed supports, which respectively traversetwo tracks upon the bridge when the latter is moved, such tracks beingconstructed eccentrically to the axis of rotation, so that the axis willbe moved from one position to another during the swinging movement ofthe bridge.

The invention also consists of certain other constructions and details,which will be referred to more speciiically hereinafter and pointed outin the claims.

Various forms and details of my improved bridge are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which nearly all the figures are more or lessconventionally shown, but with sulicient clearness to illustrate theprinciple of the invention.

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views in side elevation of variousforms of bridges all involving the invention. Fig. 7 'lis a sideelevation, and Fig. 8 is a section, of the driving and supporting rollerand the track with which it engages.

The moving span of the bridge is indicated by d, the counterweight bya', and the pier by b b'. The axis of rotation, which is usuallycoincident with the center of gravity of the bridge and counterweightcombined, is indicated at g. While this point g is the axis ot' thebridge, there is no hinge and the bridge is not supported there, so thatthis point is free to move. The bridge is supported at two points, atwhich points are located rollers c c', fixed to a suitable pier orpiers. The bridge is provided with two trackse e and f, respectively,which engage with or rest upon the respective rollerso c'. These tracksare the bearing-surfaces of the bridgeand their shape with respect toeach other and to the axis of rotation determines the exact path oftraverse of the bridge. From an inspection of the several figures of thedrawings it will be observed that these tracks in whole or in part areboth eccentric to the axis of rotation and that when the bridge isclosed one of the rollers is at that end ofits track having the shortestradius, while the other roller is at that end of its track having thelongest radius. As the bridge approaches the IOO open position thiscondition reverses until when the bridge is fully open the roller whichwas at the shortest radius 'of its track is at the longest radius, whilethe other roller has reached,the point of the shortest radius of itstrack. It is obvious, now, that with this compensating eccentricity ofrelative difference in curvature of the tracks the axis of rotation gmust change its position in space whenever the bridge rotates, and thisis the fact, the point g in the several figures indicating the positionto which point g moves while the bridge is opening. Itis the intentionto make one or both of the rollers c c driving-rollers and apply thepower for moving the bridge through them by combining with the eccentrictracks a rack and with the roller a gear wheel, to which power isapplied, the Odetails of which will be described hereinafter. Itisobvious that if the tracks c and f were combined into a single trackconcentric with the axis of rotation the axis would remain fixed inposition when the bridge lifted until when fully opened that portion ofthe structure between the axis and the track would overhang the waterwayand so restrict the passage; but, by means of the eccentric tracks, theup ward movement of the bridge, combined with the increasing radius oftrack c and the decreasing radins of track f, the axis g will be causedto move backward, until when the movement is completed the bridgestructure is still located vertically above the pier with no portion ofit overhanging the waterway, these combined motions of rotation andtranslation not being accompanied by the occupation of more pier or landspace. If the point g were permanently located at some lower and morerearward position for the sake of preventing the restriction of thewaterway in the open position, substantially the same size of pier orland area would be used, but the long leverage for the counterweightwould be lost, and to properly balance the bridge it would be necessaryto use a much larger mass, and thus increase the cost and weight of thebridge. If the point g were retained at the same height, but permanentlylocated at a more rearward position to avoid restricting the waterway, alarger pier or land area would be necessary. Hence to retain the smallpier and the long lever for the action of the counterweight withoutrestricting the waterway it is necessary to both rotate and translatethe bridge. Another advantage arising from this construction is the factthat the length of the bridge-span need be no greater than is necessaryto cross the waterway, the axis of rotation being located almostvertically above the edge of the water when the bridge is closed.

In the closed position of the bridge the larger part of its weight isnecessarily supported upon the roller c, this being nearer the watersedge and more directly below the center of gravity of the bridge. As thebridge lifts the weight is gradually shifted until when in its openposition the weight is more nearly divided between the two rollers, orthe larger part of it may even be sustained by the rearward roller c.

By properly shaping the two tracks c and fthe path of the movement ofboth ends of the bridge may be controlled. Thus in Fig. 2 the track c isnearer a straight line, one end of which is nearer the point g than theother, while the track f is a part of acircle. When this bridge opens,the outer extremity of the span will first rise vertically. Thisconstruction may be taken advantage of when it is necessary for theouter end of the bridge to clear some point on the distant pier on whichit rests.

In the form shown in Fig. 3 the first portions of tracks c and f areconcentric with the axis of rotation, although of different radii. Thisprovides for rotation without translation until the concentric portionsof the track have passed. Thereafter the eccentric portions of thetracks cause both rotation and translation. This permits thecounterweight to clear the abutting roadway.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the number of tracks and rollers is increased, thenumber of rollers and tracks in use at any one time, however, being onlytwo, except for the very short intervals when the tracks shift from oneset of wheels to the next. Fig. 4 shows the tracks concaved, while Fig.5 illustratesthe possibility of making the tracks perfectly straight.

Fig. 6 shows each track in the shape of a compound curve, both portionsof which are eccentric to the axis of rotation, the object being topermit the center of gravity to fall slightly at the beginning of themovement of the bridge, thereby effecting a quick start, and to rise atthe end of the movement of the bridge to thereby elfect a quick stop.The course of t-he center of gravity or axis of rotation is indicated bythe dotted lines.

Since the entire weight of the bridge will rest upon the rollers c c andits motion will be derived from them, I have provided a specialconstruction adapting the rollers for this Work. This is illustrated inFigs. 7 and 8. A heavy casting s is provided with a cylindrical surfaces', bounded by two flanges S2, between which are located a series ofrollers fr, maintained at equal distances apart by rings r', in whichthe axles of the rollers are hung. Surrounding the circle of rollers isa ring t, free to turn thereon, one edge of the ring being provided withgear-teeth t', which engage with a driving-pinion u on a shaft o, towhich a motor is connect-ed. The tracks c and f, one or both, dependingupon whether the motive power is applied to one or both rollers, will,according to the construction shown, be secured to the side of theframework of the bridge and will rest directly upon the smooth peripheryof the ring t. A rack e will be attached to the track for engagementwith the gear-teeth on the ring. Thus IIO when the ring is rotated bythe motor the bridge will be turned.

While I have shown the track as attached to the side of the bridgestructure, it is obvious that it may be placed on the periphery of thestructure with but slight modification of the details illustrated. Therollers furnish an antitriction-bearing, while the heavy casting orfixed axle sustains the weight. It is also obvious that the rack, whichis shown attached to the track, may be located elsewhere upon the bridgeso long as it is parallel to the track or will not be thrown out of meshwith the driving gear-wheel. Rollers are used to avoid friction; butshort fixed surfaces might be substituted, over which the tracks wouldslide when the bridge is moved. Likewise other methods of moving thebridge may be adopted-such, for instance, as a pulling-and-pushing rodattached at or near the point g and leading backward for connection witha motor. I have described and illustrated rollers or points of supportapplied to one of the side trusses only of the bridge;

butit will be understood that these will be duplicated vfor the truss onthe other side and may also be placed under the middle of the bridge orat any locations where the shape, dimensions, or style ot' the bridgerequires them.

Some of the figures show the bridge structure extending beyond theeccentric tracks. This may be found desirable to accommodate thecounterweig'ht or for various other reasons.

Having described my invention, I claiml. Averticallyeturnin g bridgehaving a plurality of tracks of relatively different curvatures Aandrespective fixed points of support upon which said tracks simultaneouslyrest and move, substantially as described.

2. A verticallyfturningbridge having a plurality of tracks of relativelydifferent curvatures, a plurality of fixed rollers correspondingrespectively to the tracks and upon which the tracks rest and move,substantially as described.

3. Avertically-turningbridgehavingaplurality of tracks and respectivefixed points upon which said tracks simultaneously rest and move. y

4. Avertically-turningbridge,supported at two fixed points normally atdifferent distances from the axis of rotation, and means whereby inturning the bridge the axis is shifted to increase its distance from onesupporting-point and decrease its distance from the other, substantial]y as described.

5. Avertically-turningbridge,supported at a plurality of points andmeans whereby the weight of the bridge is successively shifted from onepoint to the other during the movement of the bridge. Y

6. A vertically turning bridge provided with a track eccentric to itsaxis of rotation, a -xed roller engaging with said track and upon whichthe bridge rests, and means whereby the rotation of the roller willcause the bridge to turn, substantially as described.

7. A verticallyturning bridge provided with a track eccentric to itsaxis of rotation, a fixed roller upon which the track rests, a rackparallel to and carried by the bridge and a driving gear-wheel engagingsaid rack, subst-antially as described.

8. A verticallyturning bridge provided with a track eccentric to itsaxis of rotation, a rack parallel to the track and attached to thebridge and a gear-wheel engaging the rack for turning the bridge.

9. A vertically turning bridge provided with a track eccentric to itsaxis of rotation,

a rack parallel to the track and attached to.

the bridge, and a fixed gear-wheel engaging the rack for turning thebridge.

10. Avertically-turningbridgerestingupon the peripheries of rollerswhich support and turn it, as set forth.

l1. A vertically-turning bridge provided with a track eccentric to itsaxis of rotation, a fixed roller over which the track runs, the trackand roller having intermeshin g gearing whereby the bridge is turned bythe rotation of the roller, substantially as described.

l2. The combination of a pier, two fixed rollers mounted thereon, meansfor 4rotating said rollers, a vertically-turning bridge rest--4 ing uponsaid rollers, tracks attached to the bridge against which the rollersrespectively impinge,lsaid tracks being eccentric to the axis ofrotation of the bridge, for the pu rpose set forth.

13. A vertically-turning bridge having a curved tracklconstituting thebearing-surface upon which it turns, said track resting upon theperiphery of a fixed roller or rollers which support the weight of thebridge and through which the power to turn the bridge, is transmitted.

la. A vertically-turning bridge provided with a plurality of tracks, aplurality of xed points upon which said tracks respectively andsimultaneously rest and move,said tracks being so shaped that the centerof gravity of the bridge will be lowered and then raised to thereby aidthe starting and then the stopping of the bridge.

l5. A vertically-turning bridge having a curved track constituting itsbearing-surface upon which it turns, said track resting upon a roller orrollers upon which the bridge bears, said roller or rollers having anon-rotating axle, a series of antifriction-rollerssurroundi ing theaxle, and a loose rim surrounding said rollers and upon which the bridgebears, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signa; ture in presence of twowitnesses.

MONTGOMERY WADDELL.

Witnesses:

FRANK S. OBER, GEO. S. KENNEDY.

IOO

